Considering the impression of NCsoft's super hero-themed MMORPG City of Heroes, as well as the more traditionally-themed MMORPG Lineage II are still fresh on the gaming community's psyche, and that the company has two North America-bound MMORPGs in development, it's safe to say that NCsoft is no stranger to the genre, even though the two latter mentioned games are still shrouded in shadow. It was announced on Valentine's Day, however, that one of these two North America-slated MMORPGs, Guild Wars, will come out of the shadows and introduce itself on April 27 to gamers who have preordered and will be a stranger to the general public no longer. The game will be available at your local game retailer on April 28.

Gamers who preorder will also be privy to exclusive monthly Beta Weekend Events before the title's public launch that will feature first looks at gameplay elements, technological advancements and areas. The first of these events will happen February 18 through February 20, and will allow players to explore an area known as the Kingdom of Ascalon. This event will only be available to those who either preorder the game or win an access code in a contest. The other two Beta Weekend Events will be held on March 18 through March 20 and April 15 through April 17, and will only be accessible by players who preorder.

European MMORPGamers will soon be able to preorder and participate in Beta Weekend Events. It was announced that details surrounding this would be made public in the coming weeks. Contest winners, gamers who have preordered, and those who fall into neither catagory can check out the new Guild Wars trailers NCsoft has released in RPGamer's movie gallery